In 2008 the secunet Group posted sales of EUR 52.1 million, an increase of 26% or EUR 10.8 million. 55% of the Group's sales came from the High Security business unit which manufactures the SINA product line for the target groups of public consumers and international organizations. Here, sales have grown by 59% from EUR 18.0 million to EUR 28.7 million. Sales in the Government business unit also increased strongly – by 24% compared with 2007 (EUR 10.4 million) to EUR 12.9 million. Customers from the private sector are served by the Business Security and Automotive business units, which together contribute some 20% of Group sales. Both business units recorded a drop in sales: -16% in Business Security from EUR 11.3 million in 2007 to EUR 9.5 million in 2008 and -27% in Automotive from 2.1 million to 1.6 million. A general reluctance to invest due to the financial and economic crisis is considered to be the main reason for this.
At EUR 1.9 million, the EBIT fell by 46% compared with the previous year's value of EUR 3.5 million. The reason for this is the considerable expense of participating in invitations to tender and contract negotiations for large projects. These efforts were crowned with success: secunet was able to secure a major network infrastructure project for public customers, which promises long-term sales volumes of over EUR 90 million. On the expenses side, expenditure on material and related services increased steeply. On the one hand, this is related to hardware supplies for the SINA business, which is growing considerably. On the other hand, there was an increase in the costs for third-party services used to replace staff involved in the preparation of offers and projects. Personnel expenditure increased by 8.5% from EUR 17.3 million to EUR 18.8 million. At the same time, the number of employees increased by 12% from 236 to 265. Depreciation and amortization fell slightly from EUR 0.891 million to EUR 0.834 million. Other operating expenses increased by 11.7% from EUR 8.4 million in 2007 to EUR 9.3 million in the 2008 financial year; these expenses correlate strongly with the increase in the number of employees.
The net profit of the secunet Group for 2008 amounted to EUR 1.7 million following EUR 2.7 million in the previous year. Earnings per share fell accordingly by 36% from EUR 0.42 to EUR 0.27.
Cash flow from operating activities increased by 67% from EUR 3.3 million in 2007 to EUR 5.6 million in 2008. In the 2008 financial year, EUR 0.9 million (-15% compared with EUR 1.1 million in 2007) was used for investments. In the result the liquid assets of the secunet Group as at 31 December 2008 grew by EUR 5.0 million compared to previous year end.
The intensive sales activities of the last financial year have not only resulted in record sales in 2008 but have also contributed to secunet having a record order volume on 31 December 2008. At EUR 31.1 million, this was up 85% on the 2007 value of EUR 16.8 million. The order volume only reflects firm orders; including framework agreements, the sales volume for the coming years amounts to up to EUR 100 million.
Commenting on the results, Dr. Rainer Baumgart, CEO of secunet Security Networks AG, said: "Thanks to our robust business model, we are in a strong position. Our involvement in extensive infrastructure programs ensures that our capacities are being utilized to the full. A clear focus on complex security issues is thus continuing to open up promising avenues of development for us."
The Annual Report 2008 of secunet Security Networks AG and further information can be found on the web site www.secunet.com under Investor Relations. secunet publishes its 3-Month Report 2009 on 13 May 2009, the Annual General Meeting of secunet Security Networks AG takes place on 27 May 2009 in Essen.
Disclaimer
This press release contains prospective statements. Prospective statements are statements which do not describe actual facts from the past; they also comprise of statements about our suppositions and expectations. Every statement in this press release which reflects our intentions, suppositions, expectations or forecasts (together with the suppositions which give rise to such views) constitutes a prospective statement. These statements refer to plans, estimates and forecasts which the management of secunet Security Networks AG currently dispose of. Thus prospective statements only refer to the day on which they were made. We shall accept no obligation to further develop such statements in the light of new information or future results.
